What gets your motor running? What flips your switch? What motivates you? As we have been studying Paul’s letter to the Romans on Sunday mornings he is clear that the message of Christ, the gospel, is his motivation. As he prepares for his hoped for trip to Rome he writes to them sharing his message that he longs to give to them in person, that there is a new way to be righteous through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

What if we all shared that same passion for the gospel? What if the first thing we thought about posting on Facebook wasn’t the latest political comment or pictures of puppies but the gospel? What if we shared that passion for Christ? One thing for sure, the world would be made better, which is more than most of us can say for the things we post on Facebook or spend our time talking or texting about. That sounds like an idea whose time has come. Let’s make a point to post a scripture, a testimony, or a quote on the gospel. What other ways can we use to share the gospel? In conversation how do we bring Christ into the conversation? I remember when I was younger the answer to that was usually to have a tract handy to pass out. Or sometimes you would have a stock question to ask, usually “If you were to die tonight how do you know you would be in heaven?” The problem with those answers is that they feel artificial, like I’m an overbearing salesman breathing down the neck of my next victim. And usually with the same results, the person bolts and runs at the first opportunity.

So how are we to share the gospel, after all I’m motivated I want to. I really care about people’s relationship with Christ. The first thing is to care about the people. Paul wanted to get to Rome so that he could hang out with them, spend time talking with them and getting to know them. I believe Paul spent as much time just talking with people as he did preaching to them. I know Jesus himself made connections with folks. He went to their homes, he went out to where they were, and he had them get in close and personal with him. You see instead of worrying over when is the right time to jump in and ambush someone for Jesus, we need to make connections and in those connections we will find that we don’t have to force the conversation. But we need to be willing to walk into the conversations that God opens for us. These will happen as we really care about others and get to know them.​Be motivated for Christ, but then live your motivation. It will make a difference.Don